When the skies are of sapphire radiance
And the apple tree boughs are ablow,
Then the lilacs hang out in the garden
Their clusters of purple and snow.

When a new moon shines after the sunset
In the heart of the mellow southwest,
And the winds astray in the meadows
Are bent on their summertime quest,
When the cherry trees down in the orchard
Are white as the robe of a bride,
The lilac trees here at my window
Are decked in their splendor and pride.

In the odorous hush of the twilight
The evening breeze steals their perfume,
Till the rain-freshened nooks of the garden
Are sweet with the breath of their bloom,
And at morning a bluebird a-tilting
On the tip of a tremulous spray
Pipes out in their thicket of sweetness
A madrigal buoyant and gay.

Oh! Our hearts are atune with the music
Of summer and blossom and bird!
It is worth our while just to be living
When the pulses of nature are stirred/
There’s nothing so sweet as the joyance
That comes when the June breezes blow
And the lilac trees out in the garden
Are crowned with their purple and snow.

-Lucy Maud Montgomery

Source: The Poetry of Lucy Maud Montgomery